“I know it’s not as fancy as what you’re used to in Merellä,” Rikky said, once she’d finished giving us the brief tour of her home.
“Honestly, Rikky, you know it’s better than my place,” Pan said.
She laughed loudly, then in a flash of embarrassment covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, no, Pan. You can’t possibly still live above the tannery?”
He shrugged and stifled his own laughter. “I can’t find a place cheaper that’s any better than what I’ve got.”
“Oh, yeah,” she said. “There’s plenty of things I miss about living in Merellä, but how damn expensive everything is isn’t one of them.”
Pan sat down on the couch, and Rikky grabbed a throw pillow and tossed it on the floor near his feet. She sat on it, leaning up against the couch—and almost leaning on him. I didn’t know what to do, so I sat on an old steamer trunk across from them.
“This place here”—Rikky paused, gesturing vaguely at our surroundings—“costs me two hundred dollars for the entire year!”
I gasped. “That’s unbelievable!”
“There are some major trade-offs living in Merellä,” Pan said.
“I love it out here.” She turned her attention to me and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. “I don’t want to give you the wrong idea about the Omte. We’re not all backwater Neanderthals.”
“No, I didn’t think that,” I said, but truthfully, I didn’t really know what to think.
“Did you grow up around any Omte?” she asked.
“Sorta. Iskyla is home to all sorts of trolls that don’t fit in anywhere else, so that means we had a large population of TOMBs and half-TOMBs,” I said. “But since it’s a Kanin city, I’d say that was the predominant culture around me.”
“That’s gotta be hard,” Rikky said. “I grew up in Sintvaan, this little podunk Omte village. I knew I was Omte— my mom raised me, so I knew all about our culture. But she didn’t know anything about my dad. Which was how I got involved in the Inhemsk.”
“Were they able to help you find your dad?” I asked.
“Yeah, they did.” She leaned against the couch, resting her arm on the cushion so her hand rested casually on Pan’s knee. “I got to meet all my Trylle family, which has been cool, but weird. There really are so many differences, since the Trylle live much more like the humans. They use so much technology.” She rolled her eyes.
“Ulla’s actually been with the Trylle for the past five years,” Pan said gently, and Rikky blanched.
“I didn’t mean anything,” she said hurriedly.
I laughed, brushing it off. “No, it’s true, but I’ve come around to their ways. It’s been such an adjustment living where Wi-Fi isn’t viewed as a basic necessity.”
“We do have Wi-Fi here, and I know some Omte that are a little addicted to their social media and crushed-candy games. But it is always an adjustment moving to a new city. The weather, the neighbors, the food,” she said. “Which reminds me. Are you guys hungry?”
Pan patted his stomach, flat under his slim T-shirt. “I could eat.”
“Yeah, I’m definitely craving something more than gas-station food,” I added.
Trolls’ sensitive stomachs and particular dietary needs made traveling and dabbling in human cuisine tricky. We’d mostly been eating some fruit and vegetables we bought at a roadside stand in Texas.
“Excellent. I thought, to help you get in touch with your Omte roots, I’d cook you guys one of our most common meals—pepper-and-bullhead kebabs with a chadron thistle salad.”
“That sounds awesome,” I lied with a forced smile. “Thanks.”
“Why don’t you two relax, freshen up, get settled in, and I’ll get the grill going,” she suggested.
“Thanks, Rikky.” Pan slowly got to his feet and stretched. “What is the plan for sleeping arrangements?”
“I don’t have a ton of room here. I thought one of you could take the daybed in my workroom, and the other could take the couch.” Rikky stopped short and her eyes bounced between the two of us. “Unless you’re sharing a bed—”
“No,” Pan answered quickly.
“The daybed sounds great for me,” I said, calling dibs on what I thought would be the worst place to sleep, thereby giving Pan the better bed.
“Perfect.” She smiled. “I thought we’d relax tonight, since it’s so late. And then first thing tomorrow I’ll take you down to the Omte offices to talk to the records officer.”
“That sounds great,” I said.
Later on that night, after we’d choked down extra-salty chewy fish kebabs that left my stomach burning and cramping, and after I’d excused myself for the night, I lay on the lumpy bed under a thin sheet, staring at the moon reflecting on the swamp. The screens that surrounded the porch managed to keep the mosquitoes out, but they did nothing to dampen the sound of their buzzing, along with the sound of all the other bugs carrying on outside.
As loud as the wildlife was out here, it didn’t drown out the sounds of laughter and chatting as Pan and Rikky stayed up late, reminiscing.
I wondered dimly if this was mad. If I was doing the right thing. But mostly I wondered where Eliana was, and I hoped that she was okay.
3
Postkontor
I didn’t think I’d ever fall asleep, but apparently I had, because I woke up to Rikky knocking on the flimsy storm door that separated the workroom/guest room from the rest of the house.
“Are you awake?” Rikky poked her head in.
I ran my hands through my tangles of hair and squinted into the bright morning light that flooded the room. The tools and paint cans stacked on the workbench cast long, cool shadows on the warped floorboards.
“Uh, yeah, I think so.”
“I called down to the records office already, and I got us a meeting in an hour.” Her long hair hung in a loose braid over her shoulder, and the mason jar in her hands clinked with ice cubes and dark sun tea. “Do you think you can be ready by then?”
I nodded and sat up. “Yeah, of course. What time is it?”
She glanced at her watch. “Almost seven. I’ve got some tea chilling in the icebox if you want any. I’m not much of a breakfast-eater myself, but Pan is scrounging something up,” Rikky said with a meaningful laugh. “You know how he hates to miss breakfast.”
“Thanks, the tea will be fine,” I said, and she finally left me to get ready.
I pulled a change of clothes out of my duffel bag and wondered dourly what time she’d gotten up. She and Pan had still been up talking when I finally passed out around midnight.
Had they even slept at all?
Not that it was any of my business. Not really. Pan and I were only friends, but I’d thought maybe there was something more to it.
But now I didn’t know. Maybe I’d misinterpreted his kindness for something else.… Not that any of this even mattered. I had more important things to worry about than some silly crush on a cute guy.
I wasn’t sure of the Omte’s thoughts on formality or how high-ranked the records officer was, so I decided to play it safe with a business-casual look—a maxi skirt and a dark peasant blouse with light makeup.